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Puffy AmiYumi
Puffy (パフィー Pafī, romanized as PUFFY) or Puffy AmiYumi is a Japanese pop rock band formerly signed to Sony Music Japan under Epic Records and Ki/oon Music, later transferred to Warner Music Japan in 2015. The group continues to go by the moniker of PUFFY in Japan, but in order to avoid legal naming conflicts with Sean Combs, have adopted the name Puffy AmiYumi in the United States. They sing in Japanese and English. Ami Onuki, whose nickname is Jane, and Yumi Yoshimura, nicknamed Sue, were scouted by Sony-affiliated talent agencies and put together in the mid-1990s. The band gained mainstream success in Japan during 1998, following the release of their Jet album and tour in support of it. Their first release "Asia no Junshin" sold a million records and their success has continued with several more full-length releases (totaling 15 million sales in Japan). Early recordings When she was in high school, Ami sang for a band called "Hanoi Sex". In her sophomore year, the band auditioned during the Sony SD Audition and passed, becoming employees of Sony Music Entertainment. Years went by with little action by either the band or the record label, as Ami took vocal lessons and attended a professional school to learn how to become a better performer. Eventually the band dissolved, leaving only Ami under Sony's employment. She was encouraged to stay, despite lacking a band and a clear musical direction.2 Separately, Yumi had learned of the Chotto Sokomade talent search underway by Sony Music Artists when she was "around 18". She also auditioned and passed. She moved on her own from Osaka to Tokyo, where she eventually met Ami by chance in the Sony Music offices and then at a concert after-party, when the two hit it off. Both felt alone within the large Sony organization and neither were confident in their abilities as solo artists, so even though Ami had already recorded a solo CD under the guidance of former Unicorn front-man Tamio Okuda (it would later become half of solosolo), they requested Sony pair them as a duo.3 As Puffy When paired together, their voices blended well and they had a close rapport. Producer and American pop musician Andy Sturmer christened them "Puffy", and is considered by Ami and Yumi as "the godfather of Puffy". Ami had previously met Tamio Okuda at a SPARKS GOGO concert, and he had produced her then-unreleased solo CD. He was eventually signed on to produce Puffy's first album AmiYumi. Their debut single, "Asia no Junshin", launched Puffy-mania. Asked if they were surprised by the attention after its success, Yumi told an interviewer "... everything that was put together for that song all came together and made it happen, but we didn't expect it. It was luck."4 As "Puffy-mania" exploded, they became multimedia stars, including hosting their own weekly TV show Pa-Pa-Pa-Pa-Puffy with guests such as Lenny Kravitz, Sylvester Stallone, Harrison Ford, and rock band Garbage. Puffy in the United States Puffy made their first US appearance as part of Music Japan's "An Evening with Japan's All-Stars" showcase at the 2000 South by Southwest (SXSW) festival in Austin, Texas.5After their performance at SXSW, attorneys for Sean "Puffy" Combs sent the band a cease and desist letter asking them to change their name. After changing their name in the US to Puffy AmiYumi, they told Entertainment Weekly:6 The name "Puffy" most likely comes from Andy Sturmer's conscious or unconscious recollection of the night he and his bandmates/friends in the (as of then unnamed) band Jellyfishwere trying to come up with funny/catchy band names. "The Puffy" was one of the titles presented by Roger Joseph Manning's friend Greg Hillegas. A laugh was had by all, and the conversation moved on. Somewhere on a legal pad in Roger or Andy's archives is that complete list... After Pa-Pa-Pa-Pa-Puffy ended production in 2002, Puffy focused on performing in the United States. Several of their previous Japanese albums were released for the US market and they recorded theme songs for the animated series Teen Titans and SD Gundam Force. They have also done a cover version with Cyndi Lauper of her hit "Girls Just Wanna Have Fun". They were also interviewed on Jimmy Kimmel Live! by Jimmy Kimmel7 and performed their songs "Hi Hi" and "Akai Buranko" (Red Swing)8 on the show. They came back to the US in 2006 for their Splurge Tour. In April, 2017 the band made an appearance at Anime Boston for autograph signings.9 After their appearance at Boston Anime Convention they did a 3 city USA Tour which they called their "Not Lazy Tour" of the cities of San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Dallas, Texas. Musical style Their music has been largely a collaboration between producer Tamio Okuda, American singer-songwriter Andy Sturmer, and Ami and Yumi themselves. Ami and Yumi's vocals have been likened to U.S. vocal sister group The Roches They often sing whole songs together with harmonies and their sound borrows heavily from The Beatles and other artists such as ABBA, The Who, and The Carpenters. Both Ami and Yumi themselves have openly admitted that their music is hard to put into just one genre because of the many different influences. In popular culture "Kore ga watashi no ikiru michi" (これが私の生きる道, "This is the Way That I Live") was featured in Rayman Raving Rabbids 2, ONLY in The Japanese version, replacing "Teenager in Love" Gallery Adkagome1.jpg 800px-Puffy AmiYumi 20090704 Japan Expo 59.jpg 800px-Yumi Yoshimura 20090704 Japan Expo 01.jpg 1024px-Puffy AmiYumi 20090704 Japan Expo 65.jpg 399px-Puffy AmiYumi 20090704 Japan Expo 05.jpg 800px-Puffy AmiYumi 20090704 Japan Expo 66.jpg Category:Real People Category:Humans Category:Female Category:Other